Immigration to Norway has been a significant factor in the country’s demographic composition. As of 1 January 2024, Norway had 931,081 residents who were immigrants, representing 16.8% of the country's total population of approximately 5.54 million. In addition, 221,459 people (4.0%) were born in Norway to two foreign-born parents, bringing the total population with an immigrant background to 1,152,540, or 20.8% of the population. The largest immigrant groups by country of birth were Poland (109,654), Ukraine (65,566), Lithuania (42,733), Syria (38,708), Sweden (36,612), Somalia (27,665), Germany (26,860), Eritrea (25,137), the Philippines (24,718) and Iraq (Incl. Kurdistan Region) (23,603).
Immigration to Norway has increased over the last decades, beginning in the early 1990s. In 1992, the immigrant population in Norway was 183,000 individuals, representing 4.3% of the total population, and net migration that year was 9,105 people. In 2012, net migration peaked, as 48,714 people moved to the country. Since 2013, net migration has decreased. In 2016, net migration was 27,778.
History
Historical immigration to Norway started in the Viking Age. The practice of royal intermarriage was common in European aristocracies and elsewhere. The family tree of Norwegian monarchs shows that Norwegian kings used to seek their wives from other royal houses in order to foster ties with foreign countries.From Harald Finehair to Håkon Håkonsson eight out of ten known queens were princesses from neighbouring countries. Steinar Imsen. Våre dronninger . Grøndahl og Dreyer. 1991. Other historical fields linked to migrations were trade and academia, bringing workforce and innovation respectively. The Hanseatic League introduced large scale trade in Bergen and Northern Norway. Mining in Kongsberg, Røros, and other places was made possible by immigrants from nearby countries. During the 19th century the evolution of dairies and the industrial exploitation of waterfalls depended on immigrants. Before the University was established in Christiania in 1811, almost all civil servants from up to circa 1500, were migrants.Knut Kjeldstadli. Norsk innvandringshistorie . Pax, 2003.
From the middle of the 20th century, the history of migration to Norway is characterized by four main phases. The first wave of immigrants came during the 1960s, as a result of demand of labor within the secondary labor market. This group was mainly dominated by men from Pakistan and Turkey, who came to work in the oil sector. The shock of the 1973 Oil Crisis resulted in an immigration stop to Norway, which ended this first wave. The next wave came in the late 1970s, and consisted mostly of family members from former immigrants. The third wave of the mid 1980s was an increasing flow of asylum seekers mainly from Iran (Incl. Kurdistan province), Chile, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and the former Yugoslavia. From the beginning of the 21st century until today, Norwegian immigration has been characterized by a more liberal approach to labor immigration, as well as stricter policies towards asylum seekers.
Contemporary immigration According to the Norwegian Immigration Act, all foreigners have to apply for permanent residency in order to live and work in Norway, except for citizens of Nordic countries. There are four main reasons for immigration to Norway that are lawfully accepted – employment, education, protection and family reunification. In 2016, most Norwegian immigrants came for family reunification (16,465 people), followed by protection (15,190), work (14,372) and education (4,147). Of the total number of 788,531 people who immigrated between 1990 and 2016, most immigrated for family reunification (283,478), followed by work (262,669), protection (156,590) and education (80,956). Norway is part of the European Economic Area (EEA) and the Schengen area. In 2017, 41.2% of the total immigrant population in Norway were from countries in the EU or EEA. 32.4% were from Asia including Turkey, and 13.7% were from Africa. The remaining 12.7% were from European countries not in the EU or EEA, North America, South America and Oceania.
In 1999, the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (Norwegian: Utlendingsdirektoratet, UDI) started to use blood testing on Somalis who applied for family reunification with parents. The tests showed that 1 out of 4 lied about the family ties. The tests were later changed to DNA tests to verify family ties. The leader of a Somali community organization in Norway and the Norwegian Medical Association protested the tests and wished they would be discontinued. In 2010, UDI started DNA-tests on Somali childless couples who applied for family reunification where one spouse already resided in Norway. The results showed that 40% of such pairs were siblings. As the tests became widely known, the ratio dropped to 25% and the tests were widened to migrants from other regions. By September 2019, 15 foreign residents who had travelled from Norway to Syria or Iraq to join the Islamic State had their residence permits revoked.
Refugees in Norway One cause of immigration in the 20th and 21st century is the need for protection in a new country, due to wars, riots, or political persecution in the migrants' home countries. In the 1950s, refugees came from Hungary to Norway, and in the 1970s from Chile and Vietnam. In the mid-1980s, there was an increase in the number of asylum seekers from countries such as Iran (Incl. Kurdistan province) and Sri Lanka. In the 1990s, war refugees from the Balkans were the predominant immigrant group accepted into Norway; a large number of whom have since returned home to the Balkans. Since the end of the 1990s, new groups of asylum seekers from countries such as Iraq, Somalia, and Afghanistan have arrived in Norway. The Dublin Regulation in 2001 states that non-European refugees applying for asylum in a Dublin country, will only get their application processed once, in the country where they first apply for asylum.Text of the current Dublin Regulation Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national or a stateless person In 2005, 94% of refugees arriving to Norway lacked valid identification papers.
During the European migrant crisis in 2015, a total of 31,145 asylum seekers crossed the Norwegian border in 2015. The number had not been as high since the Balkan wars in 1990s. Most of the asylum seekers came from Afghanistan and Syria. In 2016, the number was reduced by almost 90% to 3460. This was partly due to the stricter border control in Europe. The EU-Turkey agreement, implemented 20 March 2016, was made in order strengthen organized channels of immigration to Europe, and prevent irregular migration from Turkey to the EU. Norway has also accepted refugees from other EU countries, In 2020 it granted asylum to anti-racism activist Rafał Gaweł from Poland, who was facing political persecution in his home country. As part of the UN, Norway receives UN quota refugees. In 2015, the Norwegian government announced that they would receive 8,000 Syrian quota refugees between 2015 and 2017.
Immigration of Married Children In April 2016, Reuters reported that in the past year, Norway admitted 10 married children (children under 16 years of age). Four had children of their own. The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) stated that "some" of the married children in Norway live "with their partners." The head of the PLAN charity stated: "If the girl is aged under 16, the minimum age for sexual intercourse in Norway, the child bride refugee should be separated from her husband even if they have children together."
Demographics
Population As of 2014, an official study showed that 4,081,000 people or 79.9% of the total population were Norwegians having no migrant background (both of their parents were born in Norway) and more than 759,000 individuals (14.9%) were immigrants—or descendants of recent immigrants—from neighbouring countries and the rest of the world. A further 235,000 (4.6%) were born in Norway to one foreign-born parent, and 34,000 (0.7%) were born abroad to one parent born in Norway.
In 2012, of the total 710,465 with immigrant background, 407,262 had Norwegian citizenship (60.2 percent)."Three categories of immigration background, country of birth and citizenship by country background and sex. 1 January 2012 " . Statistics Norway. 26 April 2012. Accessed 27 April 2012. 7 August 2011. Of these 13.2%, 335,000 (51%) had a Western background mostly from Poland, Germany, and Sweden. 325,000 (49%) had a non-Western background mostly from Turkey, Morocco, Iraq, Somalia, Pakistan and Iran (Incl. Kurdistan province). Immigrants were represented in all Norwegian municipalities. The cities or municipalities with the highest share of immigrants in 2012 were Oslo (30.4 percent), Drammen (25 percent), Lørenskog (23 per cent) and Skien (19.6 percent)."Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents, 1 January 2016" . Statistics Norway. Accessed 1 May 2016. According to Reuters, Oslo is the "fastest growing city in Europe because of increased immigration".Hare, Sophie. "Factbox – facts about Norway". Reuters. 22 July 2011. Accessed 22 July 2011. In recent years, immigration has accounted for most of Norway's population growth.
In 2010, the immigrant community grew by 57,000, which accounted for 90% of Norway's population growth; some 2% of newborn children were of immigrant background (two foreign parents). These statistics indicate that Norway's population is now 87.8% ethnic Norwegian, a figure that has steadily decreased since the late 20th century. Some 12.2% of the population is of solely immigrant background, while 5.7% of the population is of mixed Norwegian-foreign ancestry. People of other European ethnicity are 5.8% of the total, while Asians (including Pakistanis, and Iraqis) are 4.3%, Africans 1.5%, and others 0.6%.
Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents20232023Europe536 43149.17%Africa149 50113.70%Asia357 62532.78%North America13 7061.26%Latin America and the Caribbean31 0612.85%Oceania2 7100.25%
+Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents, by country background. 1 January2023ImmigrantsNorwegian-born to immigrant parentsImmigrants in per cent of total populationNorwegian-born to immigrant parents in per cent of total populationTotal877 227213 81016.03.9Nordic countries except Norway, EU/EFTA, UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand378 07651 2746.90.9Europe except EU/EFTA and UK, Africa, Asia, America except USA and Canada, Oceania except Australia and New Zealand, polar regions499 150162 5359.13.0Nordic countries except Norway69 2517 3201.30.1EU/EFTA until 2004 except the Nordic countries85 6268 8521.60.2New EU countries after 2004207 88334 0893.80.6Europe except for EU/EFTA/UK101 05822 5891.80.4Australia and New Zealand2 532910.00.0Asia265 12092 2734.81.7Africa105 81743 6851.90.8America except USA or Canada27 0733 9850.50.1USA and Canada12 7849220.20.0Oceania except Australia and New Zealand8230.00.0
Education
On average immigrants in Norway are well educated, with 18.5% having completed over four years of higher education as of 2024, compared to 12.5% for the whole population. However, education levels vary between different groups of migrants.
Social welfare